UN Secretary-General António Guterres

A “disturbing groundswell” of hate-based violence and intolerance aimed at worshippers across all faiths, must be countered soon before it’s too late, the United Nations Secretary-General said on Monday, noting murderous attacks in just the past few days on a synagogue in California, and a church in Burkina Faso.

Progress made toward eliminating the death penalty has been “marred by setbacks,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in a statement on Wednesday, marking the 16th World Day Against the Death Penalty.

The United Nations Secretary-General has welcomed an agreement signed on Wednesday by the President of South Sudan and his former Vice President, which it is hoped will lead to an “inclusive and implementable” peace deal to end years of civil conflict in the world’s youngest nation.

The UN Secretary-General has condemned an explosion which took place at an election rally in Zimbabwe on Saturday, not long after President Emmerson Mnangagwa left the stage after addressing the crowd, according to news reports.

One person has reportedly died, and dozens were injured after an explosion ripped through a large crowd at a rally for the new Prime Minister of Ethiopia on Saturday, which the UN chief described as a matter of “grave concern”.

In response to the withdrawal of the United States on Tuesday from the United Nations body which is designed to promote and protect human rights around the globe, Secretary-General António Guterres said that he would have “much preferred” the US remain.